Regeringens ministrar är tillsatta för att förvalta på de mest skilda ansvarsområden. Den här uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka ministrar utifrån teoretiskt uppställda bakgrundsegenskaper. Vanligast är det att man blir minister först i 50 års ålder. Under sina liv har ministrarna hunnit skaffa sig gedigna yrkes- och livserfarenheter. Det finns de ministrar som väljer den politiska vägen till ministerposten.

The object of this essay is to discuss the relationship between the definition of the concept of gender equality and attitudes towards gender equality and their consequences for gender equality measures. The point of departure is feminist political theory and interviews about attitudes towards gender equality at a department at the University of Linköping. The conclusions of this study is that there are a wide range of definitions and attitudes, and these conceptions are not necessarily the same as those being pointed out in the official gender equality policy at the University of Linköping. In this study the opinions of measures for gender equality among the interviewed are widely spread. Some finding Swedish men and women already being equal and therefore there is no need for measures, since this would result in discrimination of men since women would gain advantages from being women.

In this thesis we investigate the level of deliberative democracy in the current implementation of the 24/7 Agency in the local government. We are interested in how the combination of the two seemingly opposing ideals of Demokratiutredningen and the 24/7 Agency is solved. Our analysis is based on interviews with civil servants from three kommuner in Skåne and a schematic overview of their websites. As a theoretical framework we use New Public Management Theory, Deliberative Democracy Theory, and Citizen Theory.We have found that the local 24/7 Agency is initiated and implemented by public servants. Their experiences and worldview is mirrored in both process and result.

This essay intends to investigate the view on freedom of speech in Sweden. The expanding of the hate crime law rises the question if there is a current changing view on freedom of speech. By comparing motions concerning an expanding of the hate crime law from different periods, I am able to conclude if and how the view on the term freedom of speech has taken place. This is done in a descriptive analysis of terms, where the different values and arguments for a change is compared. The material is taken from the period 1991-1993 and 2000-2001.

Den här politisktfilosofiska texten syftar till att undersöka den normativa problematiken kring migration i den Europeiska Unionen. För att göra det på bästa sätt har två primära frågeställningar ställts. Den första (Vilka normativa värderingar finns det att ta hänsyn till i migrationsfrågan?) är en normativ argumentationsanalys som syftar till att gå på djupet och försöka ringa in alla de premisser som gäller för öppna visavi stängda gränser samt de konsekvenser som kan följa av respektive sakförhållande.Den andra delen av uppsatsen syftar till att reda ut vilka normativa premisser som ligger till grund för de EU-beslut som tas i migrationsfrågor, men huvudsakligt fokus på utomeuropeisk immigration.Slutsatsen i arbetet är dels att migration är en synnerligen komplex fråga där man måste ta hänsyn till en mängd vitt skilda etiska och praktiskpolitiska premisser som ofta står i direkt motsatsförhållande, dels att EU: s migrationspolicys i hög grad styrs av partikulära moraliska värderingar..

The aim of this thesis is to discover facts about the Sweden democrats by looking at statistics of five different municipalities. The main question at issue is: What can you say about the Sweden democrat's voters by researching the voter statistics of the voter districts in the municipalities. The five municipalities who are the object of the study are, Helsingborg, Hässleholm, Landskrona, Svedala and Trelleborg.The Method for this thesis is a case study of five municipalities in Skåne. I have been researching the voterstatistics in the local voterdistricts of 2002 and 2006. I have compared The Sweden democrats with the Social democrats, the conservative party (Moderaterna), and the liberal party (Folkpartiet Liberalerna).The theories that this thesis is based on are voterbehaviour and rightwing-party theories.The Results are that one can not see any signs of the Sweden democrat's success being a result of a far-reaching right wave.

The purpose of this thesis is to study how homosexuals and homosexuality were represented in the press during the trials against the Pentecostal pastor Åke Green, and to what kind of social representations and narratives these representations can be related.Using critical discourse analysis and theories about the differentiation between in- and outgroups I try to unveil implicit meanings and attitudes towards gay people mainly at the local text level. The material consists of articles in Ölandsbladet and Dagens Nyheter that were produced before, during and after the trials.The analysis suggests that homosexuals are construed as a deviant outgroup and that the majority, the ingroup, is presented as an essentially heterosexual, tolerant community. Homosexuality is wrong and heterosexuality is the right way of living. Homosexuals, in terms of group lobbyism, are construed as an enemy, a threat, against Western ideals such as family values and freedom of speech. They indirectly become a threat to Swedish democracy.

The point of departure for this essay is the observation that themunicipality of Lund is giving priority to handicap associations overother forms of associations. This act can be regarded as trespassinginto the realm of civil society. In respect of this, two aspects appearto be particularly interesting to explore. The first is to determinewhich perspective of freedom the municipality of Lund holds. Ireconstruct how the liberal and the communitarian state relate to thenegative and the positive freedom.

Using Varshney's theory about intra- and interethnic networks, this thesis examines how civil society in southern Thailand is built up.During 2004 the violence between Muslims and Buddhists rose in southern Thailand. The government tried to fight the insurgency using violent police and military forces, resulting in hundreds of deaths and part of reason why Thailand is loosing rank in Freedom House's democracy index. Varshney means that a civil society built up on intraethnic networks works favourable to violence between different ethnic groups. Sorting out and defining what is meant by ?ethnic? and ?civil society?, this thesis shows why to look at the insurgency in southern Thailand as an ethnic conflict surviving partly because of an intraethnic civil society.

The aim of this thesis is to study why Swedish authorities do organizational changes. Two organizations are analyzed; The Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) and the National Statistics Office of Sweden (Statistiska centralbyrån). A qualitative method, consisting mainly of interviews with key officials, is employed to study two aspects of organizational change: first, the main reasons for changing the organization and, second, how the process that preceded the actual change was carried out. Furthermore, two different theoretical perspectives are used to construct a basis for the analysis. One of the perspectives assumes a social constructivist approach, while the other is rationalistic inspired.

I västerländska samhällen lyfts demokratiteorier som direkt deltagande, deliberativ och deltagardemokrati lyfts allt oftare fram som en möjlig åtgärd på problemet med medborgarnas minskade politiska deltagande. Syftet med uppsatsen är att ta reda på om kommunernas satsningar på ökad medborgardemokrati leder till ett ökat medborgerligt deltagande i det politiska livet, samt om deltagandet påverkas av hur kommunerna valt att satsa på demokratiåtgär. Uppsatsen är en triangulering av kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod.Slutsatserna visar att fördelningen för antalet traditionella gentemot medborgardemokratiska åtgärder är relativt jämn, något högre andel medborgardemokratiska åtgärder. Vidare visade resultatet att vilka eller hur många demokratiåtgärder en kommun satsar på inte leder till ökat valdeltagande. Slutligen visade resultatet att vissa demokratiåtgärder är väl fungerande och genererar ett stort medborgerligt deltagande, medan andra inte lockar särskilt många medborgare att delta alls..

When Sweden acceded to the European Union in 1995 the term social economy was introduced to the Swedish context, gradually replacing the term civil society. This replacement can be seen as an indicator of a changing meaning of what the concept of civil society used to stand for.The aim of this essay is to study if it is possible to identify changing perceptions of the role of civil society for democracy in Sweden in government bills between 2002 and 2008, and, if so, what effect does this have on the delineation between the civil society and the government.An analytical model is proposed consisting of two dimensions which both capture the roles of civil society for democracy and the model examines how those roles relate to the government.The conclusion is that the government still sees the main function of civil society as a democratic school and a change agent for democracy. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that the civil society is increasingly regarded as more of a welfare producer than a fosterer of democracy..

I denna fallstudie av Region Skåne undersöks uppkomsten av nya forum för samarbete i samband med regionbildning. För att undersöka detta använder vi oss av tre politiskgeografiska begrepp. I Skåne har kommunerna delats upp i fyra samverkansorgan i vart och ett av regionens fyra hörn, detta för att kunna hävda de egna intressena gentemot regionen. Kommunerna i varje hörn har olika grad av beroende till regionen och undersökningen visar att ju större beroendet är desto mer integrerat blir samarbetet inom det egna samverkansorganet.För att skapa en förståelse för ämnet ges en kort presentation av hur regionaliseringsprocessen har sett ut i Europa, Sverige och Skåne. Materialet till analysen utgörs främst av intervjuer och rapporter där vi fokuserar på tillväxt- och utvecklingsfrågor.

Since 1983 the people of Sri Lanka has endured an ongoing Civil war, however the intencity has varied over the years. The aim of this theses is to examine what influence the asymmetric relationship between the Sri Lankan goverment and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has on the process of negotiating a solution to the civil war. I am also examining whether the asymmetical relationship has changed over time and if these changes have had any effect on the process.To analyze the asymmetries I divide them into material and non-material. I measure the material asymmetries in economic and military resourses, and to measure the non-material I use indicators such as commitment, alternative, controll and legitimacy.The results show that the asymmetrical relations between the parties in Sri Lanka have changed since the 1990s. Factors like 9/11 and the recurrent suicide bombings by the LTTE has had a great influence on the singalese-tamil relationsship.

Globalization is one of the most popular catchphrases in the international relations debate today. Globalization is a complex concept with as many definitions as authors. National borders or jurisdictions do not control the phenomenon, instead, it is moving without restraints from region to region. Is this a threat to the sovereignty of nation-state and an end of the system of Westphalia? Does the globalization undermine the nation-state by increased factor-mobility, less tax revenue and participations multilateral co-operations, as the globalists think? Or is it strengthens its importance by offering better allocation of resources through free and healthy competition, as the skeptics believe.The aim of this thesis is to analyze theories of globalization by applying them on Sweden and the Netherlands.